British Anzani A & B Stock & Alky Racing Engines

[Mark75H]

Jump back to post #10 & look at the middle 2 pictures to see where those plates fit: Link to post #10

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

Doing what you did is something I will get into once all the items to the engines are posted in picture form as in hind sight each part should have been packaged with its story but then this board is a when you can find time to do it to make it interesting with hopefully there might be posts of pictures from racers or pitcrew there taking some when they were racing back from the time they came on stream.

Some racers or pitcrew or anyone from this era have some pictures to scan and post or could send me same for return to you later, to scan with a story and post here???

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

The following pictures are the looks and shapes of the 2 Carburettor version of the British Anzani "A" but primarliy "B" Alky version of the 322-344CC Unitwin Alky racing engines as were converted by Bill Tenney in the midwestern USA and the northwesterners in both USA and Canada who used 2 and even more of these on these engines.

This adapter was meant to not replace but act as a second an air/fuel source to the crankcase side of the engine opposite and a straight path to the rotary valve crankshaft/main flaoting bearing opening in the center chest of the crankcase. The old opening a torturous "S" like shape that was in the cast iron block 90 degrees to the flow of airfuel from the Vacturi to the piston ports controlled by the piston skirts was also retained.

I am uncertain if anyone flow benched the engine too see if the Tillotson HL self pumping carb at some point velocity wise flowed all the air/fuel to the crankschaft rotary valve opening directly or there was some residual flow still taking the original torturos "S" flow path from the single Vacturi primary side through the tunnel to that same rotary valve opening area served by the single Tillotoson "HL" carb found on a lot of large CC North American made/sold chainsaws.

This adapter was handcrafted and hand fitted, bolted and glued to the outside of the Anzani crankcase where a suitable hole opposite the crankshaft rotary valve would open and close in alternating sequence the top or bottom half of the crankcase that was charging the crankcase with fresh air/fuel/lube racing mixes.

Because the Tilltotson HL was self pumping it took its pulse though a suitable crankcase pulse hole through the adapter into the same area the air/fuel mix was thrown through by the HL carb setup, so there was a actual "pulse" to make the HLs internal fuel pump diaphram to pulse and vacumm in fuel from a a "Tee" in the main fuel line from the OMC pump that was giving fuel to the return line fuel system Vacturi carb over the main cast iron block main piston ports intake barrel tunnel.

If readers think this complex, so back top earlier pages and see the "simplicity" of the 2 carb setup on Roger Wendt's (previous owner) of a hybrid Anzani from the Montana racing region at the Flathead Lake county and then on another page here is a hybrid Anzani picture with it sporting 1 Vacturi and 3 Tillotson HL carbs! There were others with even 5 Tillotson HL carbs added to the single Vacturi to really make it more complicated than the very simple twin setup this adapter was meant for.

Enjoy the pictures and post your story on these carbs springing up all over these engines, just to feed 2 cylinders producing amazing horsepower.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

I have been getting more and more British Anzani, Quincy Merc Padded Deflector and Quincy Flathead specifications requests, not unlike those Harrison race engines by Burmingham Metal Products put out. Most people know that these engines are a serious hobby for me and very much especially so when I remained badly re-injured for nearly a decade of major surgeries. Being that they are a serious hobby I am getting requests for very specific engineering measurements and weights and going that way requires major time doing the hobby that just is not available on demand. Once I get through posting engine parts and pictures, I will then take the time to make up the engineering specs like the Harrison engine and other racing type technical inspection manuals have, to post on here too for all to have and use the way they want to. Until I get to that point everything is still going on "as is", I will be declining detailed engineering specs for some time until I arrive at the times needed to do so as a hobby, which to me is just that, a serious hobby, that also needs time. I have tons of patience. Please be patient too, its virtuous!

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

These brackets are made of steel angle stock and suitable flat stock to make the platform the swivelable magneto bracket bolts too. I have duplicated them here easily. Too tell the difference between them is very hard and the fit very good where the British ovaled the long bolt holes for a little more adjustment. The pictures are as follows. Enjoy.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

Sure nothing mysterious where the exhaust pipe stock was used to make the elbos for Anzani megaphoned exhaust bells/system. The main difference between these and others as they are mandrell bent meaning there are no ripples in the curves whatso ever, so undesirable, in making 2 stroke exhausts in general. These samples are constant in diameter without a rippled through their entire length. Cost? at the time I got them back around 1980 was $8.00 a complete bend to do two pipes, a complete set. Prices now? Good Question as it seems suppliers are selling some like these at even 4 times the price. Check out the competition in the automotive exhaust parts industry. That is where these came from. Enjoy the pictures.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

The Anzani Mark I gearcase was already into production and out in the racing world when the Mark II was just behind it. The Mark II Anzani gearcase was unique in that it was a compact and extremely hydrodynamic shape that had basically 3 pieces to build the outer shell. The Main Body that held the support bearings, shafts/gears , the Nose Cone with Skeg as a unit and finally its tail cone which served as a sealed screw on cover and little more. To work on the unit as a whole, all that was required was a screwdriver, a soft faced mallet to tap gently, a pair of suitable needlenose pliers, a suitable Allen wrench for the nose cone/skeg and a "singular Anzani specialty wrench" used for one thing, to set the one piece propshaft with gear in situ with its bearings suppport collars to the one piece drivehaft with gear and that was it. No torquing of tail cone nuts, just turn it on by hand and screw in its setscrew. Put on the nose cone with skeg with an Allen wrench and joint sealing compound. Put on the caps and screw them down. Install to the towerhousing with upper driveshafting to the engine block and its a ready to go gearcase. Wonderfully simple and only one simple Anzani Mark 2 gearcase specific wrench anyone could duplicate. One wrench is for the Mark I gearcase and its the larger one, the smaller one being for the later model Mark II gearcase. From this picture you can get an appreciation as to how hydro dynamic and slimline the gearcases became under the Mark II.

Enjoy the picture.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

As a given the Anzani had 3 different ideas for supporting the twin bell exhausts they used in Alky racing. All 3 systems are shown on previous pages both on and off engine.

One was simply a thick connecting flange with a thick wall elbo with bells dual spring mouted so the pipes shook with the engines vibration with the pipes floating plugged into the elbo with springs providing the adhesion and the float. Loose the springs and you loose the pipe.

Another was the all in one pipe and pipes support struted collars that made your pipes seem like a "pacman" symbol of sorts in the same crescent shape of having one exhaust port on top and one on bottom for each unitwin cast iron block very much like the number 1. These how ever really loaded and added to the dead weight of the cast iron block in one place that added the probability of slowly cracking from the vibration the cast iron block to crankcase cast iron mounting flanges.

The last type envolved moving the pipe support collars and straps to the the Anzani's aluminum head so the head bolts could take some of the loading, distributing that load wider over the larger cast iron block casting as a whole.

Did any of the methods really do that much to improve things? Yes, the first one did. There is some proof that floating the pipes off flanges and with high tension springs allowing the pipes some limited float, cut down on the stresses and strains that caused blocks with their heavy cast iron block overhang to crack at the block to crankcase mounting flanges. Interesting enough that this was used with some Harrisons too and was the adoptive way of hanging aluminum bell pipes from all aluminum flange and elbos of the later famous Quincy Flathead engines of which their A and B Alky engines competed and traded in the same classes as the Anzanis, Harrisons and Konigs.

Enjoy the picture of the pipes support to cylinder head bracket of one of the popular exhaust systems of the A and B Anzani Alkys, both home built at the shop.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

I will not be posting for some time for doing a part for a charity as voluntary help due to the hurricane Katrina event taking away a lot of my spare time. I will be monitoring this site about once a week, but not posting at all, until my use is no longer required, just to see and monitor the chatter as I am doing same with other sites. Anyone wanting something specific to this subject of this engine can drop me an email anytime but be prepared for a slowness in response.

[BBaron]

Grahan Holmes and his son Bobby had some of the first A&B Anz.in Tex.
They were from Lubbock
Glad I found this page have raced for a long time
Benny Bob Baron